Toyota bharat has old habit of crushing the competition. It launched Qualis and everyone desserted Tata Sumo, Fortuner did the same to Endeavour and Corolla did the same to Civic. Toyota enjoyed the status of Market Leader in MUV, SUV and entry Luxury Sedan Segments. This time they have targeted the market kings (Read as Tata & Maruti) by launching Etios.
Etios carries a good brand name at attractive price. Whether these two parameters make a good car or it will be a failure in Indian Market? I hope to find an answer after evaluation.
Exterior looks are quite impressive. Length and width ratio promises lots of space inside. Overall the stance of the car is bold and yet simple. The straightforward waistline and edgy looks adds to its simplicity. The exterior is bound to attract masses for which the car is built.
After looking at the car, many would tempt to say that it is similar to Mahindra Logan and I would say they are too close. Integrated spoiler on boot with triangular headlamps is identical to Logan. But the build quality is definitely as per Toyota standards. The only negative thing I spotted was single wiper on windscreen. Toyota should have given two wipers to give a balanced look.
The car looks like Low cost car from inside. I must say that Hyundai, Tata and Maruti offer their premium products in this range. But for Toyota this is a “LOW COST CAR”. The etching pattern on plastics is coarse, carpet on rear parcel tray is quite rough, front seats doesn’t have adjustable head restraint, rear seat doesn’t provide hold/support, Jack is located beneath co-driver seat; all these indicate cost cutting measures undertaken by Toyota. Most of the steel bolts are covered by loose patches which are bound to get misplaced. Even the controls like Power window switches are quite hard.
Audio specs spell the goof-up that might have been there between Marketing and Engineering. The car doesn’t provide provisions for rear speakers. Marketing might have demanded for four speakers and Engineering ended the tussle by providing all the four speakers in the front. This affects the sound quality especially at the rear where road noise is more audible. Toyota should have added USB to its specs to score against competitors.
The cabin is not among the silent ones. Road noise, wind noise, engine noise, everything was audible inside.
The only positive thing is Leather wrapped steering wheel and leather wrapped gear knob. The steering is not circular and hence gives a sporty feel. The area where it beats competition is space. Etios offers good legroom, high head room and largest boot to keep the stuff. I was impressed by the space. {Toyota reads the customer needs in excellent way}. Ah I forgot to mention king sized cooled glove box. It is so big that one can stow his luggage bag inside. (A small one)
Powering the front wheels of the Etios sedan is a 1500cc four-cylinder 16-valve DOHC petrol engine that develops 88.8 bhp at 5600 rpm and 13.5 kgm at 3000 rpm, which is mated to a five-speed manual transmission. The engine is quite powerful and reaches three digits in quite a less time. But once the AC is switched on, the performance of engine goes down tremendously.
I could not test the maximum speed of Etios as I wasn’t that confident while driving it. The ride was good, but handling wasn’t upto the mark. The body roll is evident if one tries to turn at 50 kmph. The suspensions are on lighter side which gives nice ride to front and rear passengers. The steering is bit hard but is quite precise. Overall ride and handling is good.
There is no doubt that Toyota has done lot of homework by studying Indian customers, their needs and their desires before launching this product in market. Toyota’s management might be confident of repeating the success of Qualis. Qualis was an outdated model, launched in India and no one was able to stop Indians from buying it. I am sure this model will also give good sales figures to Toyota, but whether the customers will be delighted after buying it or not…… Well I would say NO.
For second opinion read at http://automate4u.com/2010/12/26/etios-the-new-face-of-toyota/
Why Buy: Brand, Cost, space
Why Deny: Low quality interiors, NVH, Performance after AC is switched on
